Eastern High School Students to Lead Community Health Fair Saturday

Students in Eastern High School’s Health and Medical Sciences Academy will become teachers for a day on Saturday as they lead a community health and wellness fair at the school.

The fair, which runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1700 East Capitol St. NW, will be staffed by students in the academy, a special program for Eastern High students preparing for pre-med studies or careers in nursing. It will be the first time that students in the academy have hosted a public health fair.

Students in grades 9-12 will give blood pressure, body mass index and other health screenings and will also present projects that they’ve worked on this past school year.

“Students will be using some of the various medical techniques they’ve learned,” Saudia Staten, an administrator at Eastern, said. “It’s an opportunity to showcase what they’ve learned and to get younger students in the area interested in the Health and Medical Sciences Academy.”

The academy is a four-year program at Eastern with a curriculum focused on medicine and health. Staten says the school hopes that the fair will generate more interest in the academy among middle and elementary school students in the area.

“It’s going to be fun for everyone,” she said. “There’s lots of things that younger students and parents can learn not just about the academy but about Eastern as a whole.”

In addition to the student-led screenings and presentations, the fair will also include cooking, exercise and hip hop dance demonstrations.